Foot operated toilet flush device

ABSTRACT

A FOOT OPERATIED TOILET FLUSH, COMPRISING A HOUSING ADAPTED TO BE MOUNTED ON A WALL ADJACENT TO BUT SPACED FROM THE FLOOR, A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING ONEARM LEVER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT ONE END TO THE HOUSING SO AS TO PIVOT IN SUBSTANTIALLY A VERTICAL PLANE, AT LEAST ONE UPWARDLY EXTENDING ARM OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE LEVER AND ADAPTED TO BE SECURED AT ITS UPPER PORTION TO A TOILET FLUSH ARM, AND MEANS DISPOSED WITHIN SAID HOUSING FOR BIASING THE LEVER INTO THE SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALLY EXTENDING POSITION, CONSTITUTING AN INOPERATIVE REST POSITION.

1971 o. VORGANG FOOT OPERATED TOILET FLUSH DEVICE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FiledMarch 16, 1970 INVENTOR Dec. 7, 1971 VQRGANG 3,624,845

FOOT OPERATED TOILET FLUSH DEVICE Filed March 16, 1970 5 Sheets-Sheet IINVENTOR TTO VORGANG BY ATTORNEY.

Dec. 7, 1971 o. VORGANG 3,624,845

FOOT OPERATED TOILET FLUSH DEVICE 7 Filed March 16, 1970 3 Sheets-ShoatI FIG. 8.

J /\/l (D INVENTOR O O VORGANG BY ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,624,845 FOOT OPERATED TOILET FLUSH DEVICE OttoVorgang, 68 W. 70th St., New York, N.Y. 10023 Filed Mar. 16, 1970, Ser.No. 19,797 Int. Cl. E03d 5/00 U.S. Cl. 4-249 22 Claims ABSTRACT OF THEDISCLOSURE The present invention relates to toilet flush devices, ingeneral, and to foot actuated toilet flush devices, in particular.

Heretofore, foot operated toilet flush devices have compriseddouble-armed lever foot actuated means connected to the floor or base ofthe toilet bowl at an intermediate pivot point on the lever and includedat its rear end an upwardly extending arm adapted to be connected to thetoilet flush arm.

Such devices were subject to water accumulation at the floor or at thebowl connected pivot point, causing corrosion and direct accumulationswhich were not easy to clean, as well as preventing the floor or bowladjacent to the connection to be maintained in an easily cleaned andsanitary condition.

Other foot actuated toilet flush devices were connected underneath thefloor with only the foot pedal extending from the floor to the surface,which provided obvious disadvantages in installation and repair.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a foot operatedtoilet flush which avoids the disadvantages of the known toilet flushdevices.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a foot operatedtoilet flush which is an improvement over the known toilet flush devicesin ease of installation, assembly, operation and adjustability.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide afoot operated toilet flush which is readily installed on existinghand-actuated toilet flush devices for conversion thereof, and easilyadjustable to the varying positions and sizes of the hand-actuatedtoilet flush devices, and which is mounted spaced from the floorpermitting access to the floor below for cleaning, and simultaneouslykeeps the device out of liquid accumulations on the floor.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a foot operatedtoilet flush comprising a housing adapted to be mounted on a wall,adjacent but spaced from the floor, a one-arm lever pivotally mounted atone end to the housing, at least one upwardly extending arm operativelyconnected to the lever and adapted to be secured at its upper portion toa toilet flush arm, and means disposed within the housing for biasingthe lever into a substantially horizontally extending inoperativeposition.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a footoperated toilet flush in accordance with the above-mentioned objectivewherein the biasing means comprises a coil spring connected to the leverand to the housing, respectively, at the ends-thereof.

3,624,845 Patented Dec. 7, 1971 It is yet another object of the presentinvention to provide a foot operated toilet flush in accordance with theabove-mentioned objectives wherein the at least one upwardly extendingarm comprises two telescopically adjustable members, and means forfixing the telescopically adjustable members in any desired telescopicposition relative to one another, the members being slidably connectedto the lever as well as pivotally connected thereto.

It is still yet another object of the present invention to provide afoot operated toilet flush in accordance with the above-mentionedobjectives wherein the fixing means comprises an annular flange disposedoutwardly at one end of one of the telescopic members, one of thetelescopic members having an inner diameter substantially complementaryto the outer diameter of the other of the members, a threaded bore meansradially formed in the annular flange, and a screw disposed in thethreaded bore means for locking the members in relative position withrespect to each other, axially, as well as relative to one another.

It is further another object of the present invention to provide a footoperated toilet flush in accordance with the above-mentioned objectiveswherein the members are slidably connected to the lever by a slide bandslidably disposed on the lever and forming two upwardly extending tabshaving axially aligned bores, respectively, therein, and being formedwith a split adjacent the upper surface of the lever, the lower end of alower of the members being formed with a lower flat portion having abore therethrough, and disposed between the tabs with the bores axiallyaligned, the bores of the tabs being threaded, and screw means disposedthrough the bores of the tabs threadedly and through the bore of thelower fiat portion of the members. The slide band is formed with athreaded opening therethrough at a portion adjacent the lever, and ascrew passes through the latter threaded bore for locking the slide bandin a desired fixed position relative to the lever.

With these and other objects in view which will become apparent in thefollowing detailed description, the present invention will be clearlyunderstood in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an installed foot operatedtoilet device designed in accordance with the present invention partlybroken away;

FIG. 2 is a bottom view of the assembled device with the cover removedfor clarity of disclosure;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the assembled device with the cover removed forclarity of disclosure:

FIG. 4 is a front view of the assembled device with the lever partlybroken away and upwardly extending arms not shown for betterexplanation;

FIG. 5 is an axial section of another embodiment of the telescopicupwardly extending arms;

FIG. 6 is an axial section showing a lengthening connection between theupper arm of the foot actuated toilet device and the hand operatedtoilet flush lever;

FIG. 7 is a front elevation partly broken away showing anotherconnection of the upper arm to another type of hand operated toiletflush;

FIG. 8 is a front elevation of a connection band for connecting a toiletflush lever to the upper arm of the device of the present invention;

FIG. 9 is a side elevation of FIG. 8; and

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing another connection band forconnecting a rectangular cross-sectional shaped toilet flush lever tothe upper arm of the present invention.

Referring now to the drawings, and more particularly, to FIGS. l-3, afoot operated toilet flush in accordance with the present inventioncomprises a one-arm lever 1 preferably approximately 20" long, pivotallyoperatively connected at an end 2 to a wall 3 adjacent to a toilet 4about a pivot pin 5. The pivot pin 5 passes through a bore 6horizontally formed in the end 2 of the lever 1, the lever 1 beingpivotally mounted by the pin 5 to a housing 6 secured to the Wall 3.

The housing 6' includes a wall plate 7 adapted to be positioned againsta wall 3 at a position thereon adjacent but spaced slightly from thefloor, preferably approximately 5" or =6 therefrom, either in a recess 8formed in the wall complementary to the wall plate 7 whereupon the outersurface 7a of the plate 7 may be flush with the surface 3a of the wall,as may be noted from FIGS. 2 and 3, or the wall plate 7 may simply bepositioned against the outer surface of the wall 3 without any recess inthe wall.

A large screw-threaded shank or screw 9 preferably is welded to thecenter of the rear surface of the plate 7 and is adapted to be screwedinto a threaded bore 10 formed in the center of the recess '8 of thewall 3 in order to secure the plate 7 and thereby the housing 6 to thewall. Other securing means, however, may be used.

A housing plate 11 of a smaller size than that of the wall plate 7 issecured to the wall plate 7 by means of four screws 12 positioned at thecorners thereof. Integrally depending from the housing plate 11 are twohorizontally disposed side plates or sides 13 laterally spaced apartfrom each other and parallel to each other and having verticallyoriented sides. Between the plates 13, and integrally connected theretoas well as to the plate 11, a step portion 14 is formed which has abottom or lowermost surface 15 (FIG. 2) flush with the lowermost edge orbottom 16 of the sides 13. The upper surface 17 of the step 14 isapproximately positioned at the middle of the height of the sides 13 andis horizontally oriented. The step 14 extends lengthwise to itsoutermost vertical side 18, which is positioned merely a small fractionof the longitudinal length of the sides 13. The stop 14, sides 13 andthe plate 17 may be machined from one piece or integrally weldedtogether.

Axially aligned bores 19 are formed in the side plates 13, respectively,slightly forward of and adjacent the vertical side 18 of the stop 14, inwhich bores 19 is disposed the pivot pin 5 simultaneously passingthrough the bore 6 in the end 2 of the lever 1, and constituting thepivot point thereof.

The lover 1 extends at its free end 2 between the sides 13 of thehousing 6 to a point closely adjacent the vertical side 18 of the stop14. The pivot pin 5 is formed with a cylindrical surface 20 which issubstantially complementary to the bores 19 and 6 of the sides 13 andthe lever 1, respectively, as well as with an enlarged head 21, whichabuts adjacent the outer side surface of one of the sides 13. At itsother end the pivot pin 5 is provided with a screw thread 22 on which isdisposed a locking nut 23 in order to retain the pivot pin 5 in thehousing 6'.

The extreme tip of the lever 1 at the end 2 is rounded slightly and thelever 1 is adapted to pivot upwardly or downwardly about thehorizontally disposed pivot pin 5, describing a vertical arc between thesides 13.

A vertically oriented threaded bore '24 is formed through the stop 14extending from its upper horizontal surface 17 to its lower horizontalsurface 15. A threaded screw 25 is screwed into the threaded bore 24 andincludes an enlarged cylindrical head 26 extending upwardly from thethreaded bore 24 to a position just short of the upper edge of the sides13. A washer 27 having a cylindrical body 28 formed with an openingslightly larger than the shank of the screw 25 and having an annularupper flange 29 is freely disposed about the threaded screw 25 betweenthe enlarged cylindrical head 26 thereof and the upper surface 17 of thestop 14.

A coil spring 30, preferably made of piano wire for long life, is hookedat one end thereof about the threaded pin 25 between the enlarged head26 and the annular flange 29 of the washer 27, lying on the surface ofthe annular flange 27. The other end of the coil spring 30 is hookedabout a threaded shank 31 which extends sub- 4 stantiallyperpendicularly and vertically through the upper and lower surfaces ofthe lever 1 at the end 2 at a position adjacent but between the ends ofthe plates 13.

Upon pressing the free end 4 of the lever 1 downwardly, the lever pivotsdownwardly about the pivot pin 5, and the spring 30 is stretched,causing the spring 30* to provide a return bias force, so that when thelever is released from downward pressing on the free end 4, the spring30 pulls the upper end of the threaded shank 31 toward the screw 26,causing the lever 1 to return to its initial or return position.

The threaded shank 31 extends downwardly from the bottom of the lever 1beyond the bottom 16 of the sides 13. An adjusting knob 32 of disc shapeis threaded thereon. The adjusting knob 32 is operatively adjustable onthe shank 31 so that the knob 32 abuts the lower end 16 of the sides 13in the return position of the lever 1, constituting a stop for thelever. Accordingly, the lever 1 may be adjusted to a predeterminedoriented return position, which may constitute any convenient angularlyor horizontal oriented position, by adjustment of the knob 32 along theshank 31. At least one hole 32' is provided in the adjustable knob 32 toprevent accidental rotation.

A locking cap 33 is screwed to the bottom of the threaded shank 31 forpreventing the inadvertent removal of the adjusting disc 32 duringadjustment. If the return or rest position of the lever is desired to belowered at its free end 4', the adjusting knob is turned so as to causethe portion of the threaded shank 31 below the adjusting knob 32 toincrease, thereby effecting the lowering of the free end 4' of the lever1 in the rest position. If the lever is desired to be raised at its freeend 4', the adjusting knob 32 is turned in the other direction, therebyeffectively lowering the position of the knob 32 relative to thethreaded shank 31, permitting the spring 30 to lift the lever 1 afurther distance upwardly until the adjusting disc 32 abuts the lowerend 16 of the sides 13, thereby terminating the raising of the lever 1and determining the rest position. The rest position may be accordinglyvaried to the comfort and ease of the user by providing the free end 4at the optimum position for use, and to provide sufficient leverage foractuating the toilet flush, as will hereinafter be explained.

An L-shaped cover 35 is disposed on the top of the two sides 13,protecting the spring from water and the like. The cover 35 is securedby screws 36 passing through bores 37 in the cover and aligned threadedbores 38 in th forward edges of the sides 13.

The lower edge 35a of the cover 35 serves as the maximum limit abutmentposition for the lever 1. Beyond this point the lever 1 can not beadjusted upwardly in its rest position. The lower edge 35:11 ispreferably disposed above the center height of the sides 13 and when thelever 1 is against the edge 35a it is slightly raised from thehorizontal position. The adjustment knob 32 can terminate the raising ofthe lever to positions lower than that limited by the edge 35a of thecover 35.

A collar slide member or band 39 is provided on the lever 1. The leveris preferably formed with a square cross-section and the collar slide 39is formed with a complementary square shape for sliding on the lever 1.Adjacent the upper surface 40 of the lever 1, the slide 39 is slitforming a split 41 effecting resiliency of the slide 39 and permittingease of sliding.

Two parallel upwardly depending tabs 42 spaced from each other extendfrom the upper portions of the slide 39 adjacent the split 41 and areformed with axially aligned screw threaded openings 43 therein. A rod orupwardly extending arm 44 having a circular cross-section and aflattened end 45 with an enlarged opening 46 therein, extends upwardlywith its end 45 disposed between the tabs 42. A screw pivot member 47passes between the threaded openings 43 and through the opening 46 ofthe end 45 of the arm 44, thereby pivotally connecting the arm 44between the tabs 42 about the pivot member 47. The screw pivot member 47has an enlarged cylindrical portion 48 by which portion one may easilyturn the member. The screw pi-vot member 47 also has a screw threadedportion 49 which screws into the threaded openings 43. The member 47also is provided with an integral washer 49' portion abutting one of thetabs 42. Since the opening 46 is larger than the threaded portion 49,the upwardly extending arm 44 is loosely pivotally mounted thereon. Theslide 39 may also be held in a fixed position on the lever 1 bytightening the screw pivot member 47, causing the tabs 42 to be pressedto ward each other clamping the slide 37 on the lever 1.

The bottom of the slide 39 (FIG. 2) is formed with a thickened centralportion 50 having a screw threaded opening 51 therein, in which a screw52 may also be positioned for engaging the bottom surface of the lever1, thereby permitting the slide to be locked at any predeterminedposition along the lever 1.

The upwardly extending arm 44 carries an upper arm 53 which preferablyhas a longitudinal cylindrical bore therethrough complementary to theouter surface of the arm 44, upon which outer surface the upper arm 53is disposed, telescopically. The bottom of the arm 53 is formed with anoutwardly depending annular flange 54 in which a radially orientedthreaded bore 54a is provided. A screw member 55, preferably the same asthe member 47, is disposed in the threaded bore 54a for locking thetelescopic members 53 and 44 in any desired relative predeterminedposition, rotationally as well as longitudinally, by the tip of thescrew member 55 passing through the threaded bore 54a, holding themembers together. The upper end 56 of the arm 53 is flattened and formedwith an opening 57. As indicated, the telescopic arm 53 may be rotatedrelative to the arm 44 and locked in any such position due to therotationally symmetric structural members so that the flat end portion56 of the arm 53 may be positioned perpendicular to, or facing directly,the flush arm or flush lever 58 of the toilet 4.

In one particular embodiment, the toilet flush arm 58 may be drilledwith a threaded bore 59 and a screw 60 is passed through the hole 57 inthe flat portion 56 of the upper arm 53 therethrough and threadinglyinto the threaded bore 59 of the flush lever 58 of the toilet. A washer61 may also be provided on the threaded screw 60.

The free end 4 of the lever 1 is formed preferably hollow and a footpedal member 62 having a shank 63 substantially complementary at itsouter surface to the hollow cross-sectional shape of the free end 4 ofthe lever 1 is adjustably disposed therein. There is provided, further,at another end of the foot pedal member 62 a substantially ellipticalflat disc or plate 64, welded at preferably a 45 downwardly inclinedangle, suitable for easy actuation of the lever by ones foot. The shank63 is provided with preferably a plurality of threaded bores 65 eachextending from its upper surface to its lower surface, which threadedbores 65 are adapted to be aligned with a threaded bore 66 formed in thefree end of the lever 1, when the member 62 is slid telescopically intothe free end 4 of the lever 1. A screw 67 secures and holds the footpedal member 62 to the free end 4' of the lever 1. The plurality ofopenings 65 and the telescopic formation of the foot pedal member 62effectively permits the adjustment of the length of the lever as may bedesired in particular bathroom applications, depending on the distancethe toilet is positioned from the rear wall 3 to which the device of thepresent invention is to be secured.

In operation, upon stepping down on the plate 64, the lever 1 is tilteddownwardly at its free end 4', turning about the pivot pin 5, stretchingthe spring 30 and cansing the upwardly extending arms 44 and 53 to movedownwardly, thereby pulling the toilet flush arm 58, and actuating theflushing of the oilet. Upon release of the foot pedal member 62 byremoving ones foot from the plate 64, the return bias force of thestretched spring 30 causes the lever 1 to be returned to its normalinoperative or rest position, and the arms 44 and 53 likewise returnupwardly releasing the toilet flush arm 58 again to its inoperativeposition. It should be noted that the rest position of the lever 1 isadjusted such that at the rest position, when the disc 32 abuts thelower end 16 of the plate 3, the toilet flush arm 58 is in itsinoperative position. For this purpose, several adjusting means incombination are provided by which the optimum positioning of the devicemay easily be made; that is, the adjustment of the telescopic arms 44and 53 to permit the proper extension from the height of the lever 1 tothe toilet flush arm 58; the aforementioned orientation of the lever 1in its rest position by the adjustment knob 32; and the positioning ofthe lower end 45 of the arm 44 adjacent the lever 1 by means of theslide 39. In practice, preferably the arms 44 and 53 are substantiallyvertical and the slide 39 is positioned adjacent the housing 6, althoughnot limited thereto, and not so shown in FIG. 1 for ease of Niewing.

All parts of the device in accordance with the present invention aremade preferably of stainless steel, and are corrosion-resistant.

In accordance with the present invention, replacement of a new springmay easily be effected. The connection between the arm 53 and the toiletflush 58 is removed, as well as the cover plate 35 by unscrewing theappropriate parts. The cap nut 33 is removed as well as the adjustingknob 32 and the lever 1 is raised upwardly to relax the spring 30 whichcan then easily be removed from the threaded shank 31 and the screw 25,and a new spring replaced thereon. The removed parts are then replacedand the knob 32 is adjusted on the threaded shank 31 until the lever 1reaches the desired rest position orientation. The connection betweenthe arm 53 and the toilet flush 58 is again made.

Referring now again to the drawings, and more particularly to FIG. 5,another embodiment for the upwardly extending telescopic arms isillustrated. An upper open ended tube 68, preferably made of brass orother solderable material, is formed with screw threads 69 on its outersurface at the top. A stub tube 70 having inner screw threads -71 isscrewed onto the upper end of the tube 68 on the screw threads 69 and issoldered in position thereto at end 72. The stub tube 70 has an upperend 73 formed with a central opening 74 through which a ringed pin 75preferably made of brass or any other solderable material is looselypositioned. The pin 75 is formed with a threaded shank 76 which isscrewed into and then soldered to a sleeve 77 freely disposed within thetube 68 spaced from the walls thereof and having an inner threadedopening 78. The sleeve similarly is formed preferably of brass or othersolderable material. The upper end of the pin 75 is formed as an eyering 79 which is adapted for connection by a screw or the like to thehand actuated toilet flush lever. The lower end of the tube 68telescopically engages about a lower hollow tube 80 carrying a threadedshank 81, the latter being threaded on an interior threaded surface 82inside the tube 80, and extending substantially into the tube 68. Theend of the tube 80 is soldered to the shank 81. The tube 68 is formedwith an inner integral part 83 having an axial threaded bore 84 whichengages the shank 81 for rotational and thereby longitudinal relativemovement of the tubes 68 and 80, constituting telescopic members.

-When it is desired to vary the relative longitudinal position of thetubes 68 and 80, the tubes are rotated relative to each other, causingthe threaded shank 81 and threaded opening 84 to turn and longitudinallymove relative to one another, thereby changing the longitudinal positionof the tubes 68 and 80 relative to each other. When the desired overalllength of the two tubes 68 and 80 is reached, a screw 85 is insertedinto a radial threaded opening 86 formed in an annular strengtheningflange 87,

soldered to the lower end of the tube 68, the opening 86 extendingthrough the lower end of the tube 68 adjacent the tube 68, whereby thescrew 85 locks the tubes 68 and 80 in fixed position. The lower end ofthe tube 80 is formed similar to the lower end of arm 44 (FIG. 1) and isadapted to be connected operatively to the lever 1. Referring now to thedrawings, and more particularly to FIG. 6, a lengthened connection tothe hand toilet lever or toilet flush arm 58 is illustrated comprising alengthened threaded shank 88 screwed at one end into a threaded boreaxially formed in lever 58. The other end of the threaded shank 88passes through the opening 57 in the arm 53 and a lock nut 61 isdisposed thereon. A hollow cylindrical sleeve 89 is positioned on thethreaded shank 88 between the hand lever 58 and the arm 53, prior to theinsertion of the shank 88 through the opening 57. In this manner, ifnecessary during installation, the distance of the arm 53 from the handlever 58 may be adjusted by proper selection of the size of the threadedshank 88 and the sleeve 89. The sleeve 89 further serves to cover theshank 88 providing a cleanesthetic appearance.

Another connection is illustrated in FIG. 7 for another hand flush lever90. The upper arm 53 here is shown with a slightly modified upper endturned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the flush lever 90. Ascrew 91 connects the arm 53 to the free end of the lever 90 passingthrough axially aligned bores in the members.

In FIGS. 8 and 9, still another connection is illustrated, using aconnection band 92 having a shape complementary to the outercross-sectioned surface 93 of the hand flush lever or toilet flush arm94 and formed with two depending parallel spaced tabs 95 formed withaligned openings 96 through which a screw 97 is inserted and about whicha lock nut 98 is positioned to resiliently secure the band 92 to theflush arm 94. The screw 96 also passes through the opening in the upperarm 53, whereby the arm 53 is operatively connected to the flush lever94. FIG. 10 illustrates a connection similar to that of FIGS. 8 and 9,in which, however, the connection band 92' has a rectangular shapecomplementary to the outer surface of the hand flush lever 94'.

For the orientation of the flat upper portion of arm 53 perpendicular tothe longitudinal axis of the hand flush levers of the embodiments ofFIGS. 7-10, the upper arm 53 is rotated relative the lower arm 44 by 90from the position illustrated in FIG. 1, and the arms 53 and 44 are thenlocked in this position by the screw member 55. Also the telescopictubes 68 and 80 of FIG. provide for such orientation by the turnablering pin 75.

While I have disclosed several embodiments of the present invention, itis to be understood that these embodiments are given by example only andnot in a limiting sense.

I claim: 1. A foot operated toilet flush device, comprising: a housingadapted to be mounted on a wall adjacent to but spaced from a floor, I

a substantially horizontally extending one-arm lever pivotally mountedat one end to said housing so as to pivot in substantially a verticalplane, at least one upwardly extending arm operatively connected to saidone-arm lever and adapted to be secured at its upper portion to a toiletflush arm, and

means disposed within said housing for biasing said one-arm lever intosaid substantially horizontally extending position, constituting aninoperative rest position.

2. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,wherein:

said means biasing said one-arm lever comprises a coil spring connectedto said lever and to said housing, respectively.

3. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,wherein:

said at least one upwardly extending arm comprises two adjustabletelescopic members,

means for fixing said telescopic members in various desired longitudinaltelescopic positions relative to one another, and

said telescopic members being slidably and pivotally connected to saidlever.

4. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 3,wherein:

said fixing means comprises, an annular flange disposed outwardly at oneend of one of said telescopic members,

said one of said telescopic members having an inner diametersubstantially complementary to the outer diameter of the other of saidmembers,

a threaded bore means radially formed in said annular flange, and

a screw disposed in said threaded bore means for locking said telescopicmembers in various selected longitudinal as well as rotatable positionswith respect to each other.

5. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 3,wherein:

one of said telescopic members, constituting the upper of said members,is rotatable relative to said other of said members,

said fixing means for fixing said members rotatably as well aslongitudinally relative to each other, and

said upper member being formed with a flattened end at its uppermostportion and having an upper opening therethrough, and

screw means adapted to pass through said upper opening of said uppermember and adapted for connection to said toilet flush arm.

6. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 3,further comprising:

a band slidably disposed on said lever and forming two spaced upwardlyextending tabs having axially aligned threaded bores, respectively,therein, and said band being formed with a split between said tabsadjacent said lever,

the lower end of a lower of said telescopic members being formed with alower flat portion having a lower opening therethrough,

said lower flat portion being disposed between said tabs with said loweropening axially aligned with said axially aligned threaded bores of saidtabs,

screw pivot means disposed through said axially aligned threaded boresof said tabs threadedly and through said lower opening of said lowerflat portion,

said band being formed with a threaded opening therethrough at a portionadjacent said lever, and

a locking screw passing through said threaded opening for locking saidband in any desired fixed position along said lever.

7. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 6,wherein:

said lower opening of said flat portion is substantially larger thansaid axially aligned threaded bores of said tabs.

8. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,further comprising:

a pedal member including a shank having a plurality of threaded pedalmember openings along its length and including at a forward end thereofa substantially flat plate of curved shape secured thereto at aninclined angle,

said lever having a free end,

said free end of said lever and said shank of said pedal memberconstituting telescopically adjustable elements,

said free end of said lever formed with an axially directed free endhole therein,

said threaded pedal member openings adapted to be aligned selectivelywithin said free end hole of said lever, and

screw means for locking said telescopically adjustable elements bythreadedly passing through said selectively aligned pedal memberopenings and said free end hole in said lever.

9. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,wherein:

said housing includes,

two spaced horizontally extending plates formed with axially alignedbores defining a horizontal pivot axis, a pivot pin extending throughsaid axially aligned bores and pivotally connectnig said one-arm leverat said one end thereof, and

said means for biasing said one-arm lever comprises a coil springconnected operatively to said housing and operatively to the upper sideof said one-arm lever.

10. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 9,further comprising:

a step integrally formed between said plates of said housing at thelower portion thereof,

said one end of said lever longitudinally spaced from said step as wellas vertically positioned higher than the level of said step,

said step being formed with a substantially vertically oriented threadedbore therein,

a threaded engaging screw disposed in said vertically oriented threadedbore and having an enlarged head extending upwardly substantially abovethe level of the upper surface of said one-arm lever,

said one-arm lever being formed with a threaded shank bore substantiallyvertically passing therethrough at said free end between said pivot axisand the other end of said lever and between said two plates of saidhousing,

a threaded shank disposed in said threaded shank bore of said one-armlever, extending thereabove, and said coil spring is connected at oneend to said threaded engaging screw adjacent said enlarged head thereofand at the other end to the portion of said threaded shank extendingabove the upper surface of said onearm lever.

11. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 10,further comprising:

a cylindrical washer having an upper annular flange disposed on saidengaging screw between said enlarged head of said engaging screw and theUpper surface of said step, and

said one end of said coil spring being disposed about said engagingscrew on said annular flange of said cylindrical washer.

12. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 10,wherein:

said threaded shank extends at a bottom portion thereof below the lowersurface of said one-arm lever substantially beyond the lower surface ofsaid two plates, and

a threaded knob adjustably rotatably disposed on said bottom portion ofsaid threaded shank for adjustment so as to change its position relativeto said bottom portion, and said threaded kno'b abutting operatively thelower surface of said two plates in said inoperative rest position ofsaid one-arm lever.

13. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 12,further comprising:

an L-shaped cover releasably screwed to said two plates of said housingat the upper portion thereof and covering the upper surface of said twoplates, said coil spring, said threaded shank, and said threadedengaging screw.

14. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 13,wherein:

said L-shaped cover includes a cover edge disposed at the free end ofsaid two plates and constituting a maximum upper limit abutment forraising of said one-arm lever.

15. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,wherein:

said housing includes a plate having a screw Welded thereon forconnection into a wall,

a second plate substantially smaller than said first plate,

screw means for securing said first and second plates together,

two horizontally extending side plates spaced from one another andintegrally connected to said second plate and including axially alignedbores defining a pivot axis of said one-arm lever, and

a pivot pin extending through said axially aligned bores and said oneend of said one-arm lever for pivotally connecting the latter to saidhousing.

16. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 15,wherein:

said pivot pin has a cylindrical shank and an enlarged head at one endlarger than said axially aligned bores and having screw threads on theother end, and

a nut disposed on said threaded end of said pivot pin securing saidpivot pin to said housing.

17. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,wherein:

said at least one upwardly extending arm comprises two adjustabletelescopic members comprising,

an upper hollow tube having an inner screw threaded portion,

a lower hollow tube displaceably disposed within said upper tube andhaving secured thereto a threaded shank rotatably screwed into saidinner screw threaded portion of said upper tube, thereby effecting alongitudinal relative movement of said upper and lower tubes, and

means for locking said upper and lower tubes in a fixed positionrelative to each other.

18. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 17,further comprising:

a stub tube secured to the upper end of said upper tube and formed withan opening at its upper end,

a screw threaded ring pin extending through said opening, said openingbeing larger than said pin,

a sleeve freely disposed in said upper tube and screwed onto said pin,and

said pin having an eye ring extending beyond said stub tube.

19. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 18,further comprising:

an annular flange secured to the lower end of said upper tube adjacentsaid lower tube, said annular flange formed with a radially directedscrew threaded opening extending also through said upper tube, and

a locking screw disposed in said screw threaded opening for locking saidmembers together.

20. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,further comprising:

means for connecting said at least one upwardly extending arm to saidtoilet flush arm and comprising a threaded shank screwed at one end intosaid toilet flush arm,

said at least one upwardly extending arm having an opening formed at itsupper end through which said threaded shank extends, and

a lock nut screwed on the other end of said threaded shank.

21. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 20,further comprising:

a hollow cylindrical sleeve disposed about said threaded shank betweensaid upwardly extending arm and said toilet flush arm.

22. The foot operated toilet flush device, as set forth in claim 1,further comprising:

a flexible band disposed about an end of said toilet flush and a lockingnut mounted on said threaded screw securing said threaded screw to saidtabs.

References Cited UNITED 10 STATES PATENTS Palmer 4249, 74512 Rehback4249 X Rothe et al. 4249 Holl 4249, 317 141 15 1 2 9/ 1961 Muradian etal 4249 X 2/1962 Radcliffe 4249, 44 7/ 1962 Gentry 4249 X FOREIGNPATENTS 10/ 1967 Australia 4-249 8/1951 France 4249 9/1938 Italy 425110/1942 Sweden 4249 9/ 1936 Switzerland 4-249' 8/ 1936 Switzerland 4249LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner D. A. MASSENBERG, Assistant Examiner

